War hospital shelters open to public

The wartime shelters beneath the Police Headquarters in Floriana, have been turned into a display of the war-time era, when the site was used by the British government as a hospital.

During the Second World War, the shelters dug below the quarters were used to house the most critical of patients, so as to avoid moving them around in case of overhead air raids. The shelters also housed two operating theatres.

Sergeant Joseph Borg, in charge of the project said it took him more than six months to set up the shelters in a manner so that visitors can get a clearer idea of what it looked like some seventy years ago.

"I did a lot of research and we have set up most of the rooms with authentic material as much as possible," he said pointing to original medicinal bottles lining the walls.

The shelters will be open to the public tomorrow Saturday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. and on Sunday between 8 am and 1pm, as part of the celebrations of Police Week.